For every 25 new followers/likers, I will give away one prize pack. I will upload pictures in a few hours, please bear with me (previously scheduled family event).

Details:

Let me know what you did through a comment on this post and be sure to include your e-mail address. (one comment for each activity) e.g. " I now follow your blog." or "I liked your page on FB."

You need to do this in the next 24 hours. (remember- flash giveaway )

Fine print:

At 6pm, PST tomorrow (12/4/10) I will turn off commenting and pick the winners via random.org depending on the number of new followers. I will announce the winners here and via e-mail. The winners have 48 hours to contact me with their shipping details or I will draw new winners.One prize per person.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

A few months ago, I shared my fustration about finding breastfeeding/nursing bras and clothing as a plus size woman. One of my readers happens to not only have experience with this issue, but decided to do something about it. Her name is Judy and she owns A Mother’s Boutique. I am glad she chose to blog about my post and share her story because it not only validated my feelings, but she shared some items I am really looking forward to trying!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

In less than one hour, a 2 hour (!) twitter party of epic proportions will be starting. The Eco Chic will be hosting the party that is sponsored by DiaperShops.com and features over thirty prizes !! Come join in for some fluffy fun!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Best for Babes does an amazing job of addressing issues (aka Booby Traps) that women face when attempting to breastfeed. These booby traps can make breastfeeding difficult or impossible for some women.

I want to address the elephant in the room that I will call the BIG Booby Trap.

Just like the name, this booby trap refers to the issues and or problems that women who are plus size and/or have big breasts face. It is almost impossible to find a nursing bra bigger than 42DDD in any brick and mortar store. And forget about nursing tanks...apparently women with big breasts just like to throw a tent on, because ya know, we don't need any support at all. Glamourmom supposedly offers a yank top in plus size, but I find they run really small. The worst offender, in my opinion, is La Leche League. I love, love, love them as an organization, but their bras and tank top are sadly lacking in size options. Sad.

Today, I came across a link that advertised the new maternity & nursing clothing line from Shari Crisco. I admire Shari for her outstanding work in supporting new parents and especially educating breastfeeding mothers. I clicked on the link and was pleasantly surprised to see the web page showing pictures of the clothes being modeled and captions such as "Sizes and styles to fit EVERY Mom!".

Thursday, September 23, 2010

I was reminded today of one of the reasons I am glad I breastfeed - a recall by formula maker Similac of almost 5 million cans of baby formula. The recall was prompted by findings of beetle and/or larvae in their Michigan plant.

The first thought that I had was of all the parents and babies affected. How would they get reimbursed? Can they return the formula to the store they bought it at? What a pain to change brands, especially if the Similac formula was a special kind.

As I told my husband via the phone of the recall, I joked with him that the recall just meant that more beetles than the allowed amount was found. I joked, more than likely because the thought of feeding an infant

Monday, September 20, 2010

I just read a tweet linking a story of a Mom who was recently harassed about wearing her baby in a carrier while on a airplane.

As I read her tale, it brought back memories of a similar situation that happened to me with my oldest daughter four years ago. We were on a flight from Portland to Chicago to attend the wedding of my oldest sister. My babe was just a little thing, all of three months old at the time. I had her in a pouch sling and was focused on making her comfortable (Read:quiet) so as not to disturb the other passengers. She was very content in her sling and I was holding off on nursing her until takeoff, so as to avoid any discomfort in her tiny ears.

I was approached by one of the flight attendants, who demanded that I take my daughter out of the sling, so that "in case of an accident she would be protected" in my arms.My first thought was what?...that doesn't seem very logical. If she was out of the sling, her safety would depend on me holding her. My mind raced thinking of possible scenarios. What if I was jolted and instinctively tried to grab for something to hold? I told the attendant that I didn't think it was safer. She then insisted that I needed to take her out anyway so that she would be facing forward. Before I had a chance to respond, she walked away to help another passenger.

I was at a loss of what to do. Should I follow my gut instinct or listen to the flight attendant? The woman sitting next to me (perfect stranger), leaned over and whispered "just ignore her, do what you think is right". So I did. I kept my babe in the pouch sling and just made a point to not look at the flight attendant. On our return flight home, I did the same thing I did on the first flight. Not a single flight attendant said anything to me in regards to my babe being in her sling.

That's where my story is different from Jen Starks. In her situation, she was harassed further by a Delta flight attendant, who called the police on Jen. Yes, I am serious. Read her story here.

For the record, this is from Delta's website in regards to their official policy on Infant & Child Seating;"An adult (12 years or older) may hold an infant or place the infant in a FAA-approved child restraint during take-off and landing." That's it. Nothing stating what position the child must be held in or which direction the child must face.

What do you think? Was the flight attendant in the right? Should all children be forced to have their own seat and in turn, plane ticket?

Thursday, September 16, 2010

So today's fun included a trip to Target. Like normal, we visited the bathroom at the beginning of our trip -

It used to be one my favorite places, but not so much anymore.

When I s feeling overwhelmed when running errands with my children and then one day I realized I was trying too hard. I was simply putting too much on our plate. One or two stops for my "needs" followed by a "kid stop" is what I usually do. For example we might go to Costco to shop, get gas, and then go play/eat snack at a park. I had forgotten the crucial ingredient - addressing their needs also.

Another important step is visiting the bathroom when we enter a store. Man, it can be very taxing in your patience when you just need "one more thing" and your child pipes up with a request to go to the bathroom. Now.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Okay, at first I thought, hmmm - kinda weird. Does this mean a child at potty-training age needs to have their own iPhone? What the heck is wrong with an old fashioned kitchen timer? Jeez.Then my next thought was....I hope some Mom somewhere doesn't forget to turn off this app before going into that important business meeting. "Hi, it's Potty Patty!"

Lastly, as I looked over the app description and screen shots, I noticed the handy feature that allows a proud parent to "share a progress report with family and friends".

Seriously? Yeah, ummm, don't even think about including me in that. I don't want to read an e-mail or Facebook post that your child peed in the potty. Really, no thanks.

Last week, I came across a product that props a bottle for a baby in a stroller.

Then tonight, I came across this while researching a tweet about bottle propping in a car seat.And if that wasn't bad enough, I found this product .

I am just furious now. Only time I would EVER see this being a positive thing is in the case of multiples. According to the products website, "TheBaba Buddy was designed by two mothers, a mother of four with twins, and a mother of three." However... it is being marketed to "every Mother".

When did convenience take a front seat to safety or love? This just pisses me off that a parent would not stop to take the time to hold their baby & their bottle just to "fold the clothes, empty the dishwasher, cook dinner, or just get yourself dressed and ready for the day!"

Why are these people procreating to begin with? Somebody should point them in the direction of the nearest animal shelter. What moron told them that babies don't need attention or love?

I could care less whether a parents feeds their child a bottle, but for goodness sake - take the time to hold your baby, bond with your baby, and make sure your baby doesn't choke on their propped bottle while you are driving somewhere "important".

Children grow up so fast and become independent when they are ready. Why force it just for the sake of your selfish need to get things done?

Ruby red, minty, refreshing and delicious, USDA Certified 100% Organic & Certified Kosher No More Milk Tea is a blend of herbs traditionally used to naturally reduce the production of breast milk. Lovely iced or hot, Mama suggests drinking up to three cups a day.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

THIS MONTH ONLY to celebrate Breastfeeding Awareness Month ~ 50% off the regular price of PumpEase Petite!

The picture above might look strange to you - it sure did to me. Then I read about it and thought about how hard it was for me the year and a half that I pumped for my oldest daughter and WISH I had something like the PumpEase.

An excerpt from the description on the PumpEase website explains the benefits;

Wrap PumpEase™ hands-free pumping support around your chest and fasten in the front over your nursing bra, nursing top (lower panels first) or over nothing at all. Insert the breast pump horns into the openings, centering over your nipples and start pumping. You will enjoy having both hands free for checking email, taking phone calls, banking online, writing thank you cards or tending to baby - all while pumping!

In celebration of National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, Glamourmom has put together a donation program 'Buy One, Give One', which will run until August 31, 2010.Any purchase of a nursing bra tank on www.glamourmom.com during the duration will be matched and will be donated to moms in need.

Friday, August 13, 2010

You’ve heard there are herbs that can help stingy milk, and you know there are herbs you shouldn’t use while breastfeeding. But what if you don’t know your Pimpinella anisum from your Borago officinalis? Now there’s a book to make it all easy for you.

Filled with herbs, breastfeeding tips and advice from Mama, EMAB’s A Comprehensive Guide to Herbs and Breastfeeding is an essential reference for careful mamas who want to safely harness the goodness of herbs. Best of all, it's FREE!!

Simply click the picture above to fill out a form and you will get an email with the secret link so you can download your very own copy.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

I am glad we live in a country where we can speak freely and share our personal opinions. That being said, everyone has a right to disagree with the opinions of others. I am exercising my right to free speech by protesting against you, a radio personality, sharing such a hateful opinion in a way that may influence the decision of women on whether to breastfeed their children and/or future children.

Do you honestly think that no are NO benefits to breastfeeding? It has been proven over and over again that there are economical, financial, and health benefits. Why would you protest against such a wonderful act on air, instead of turning your head in the same manner to other things you do not approve of?

I refuse to sit idle and instead will do my best to refute such negativity about breastfeeding and support breastfeeding mothers, whether they choose to NIP or not. We should have the choice and legally we do.

Sincerely,Laura Perkins

P.S.I am NAK while I am typing this, aren't you glad we are not on Skype?

Monday, May 31, 2010

I don't know what to make of this product I stumbled upon (thanks insomnia).

All the pictures look to be of babies in disposable diapers. I find this very intriguing because my daughter , who is almost 16 months old, spends most of her time at home in just a diaper. My older two children never took off their diaper and/or did anything with the contents.

In fact, I was swapping stories recently with a Mommy friend of mine about how our children pick out their own new diaper when it is time to be changed. We both use cloth diapers. Our daughters seem to be in love with their "fluff".

Friday, May 21, 2010

Do you tweet? Have you been to a twitter party? No, it does not involve throwing birdseed in the middle of a park....it is a virtual party using twitter accounts. Prizes, fun, and fast typing are usually involved.

I just attended my first twitter party a few days ago and just finished my third tonight. It can be confusing and very fast paced, so I strongly recommend reading this short article from Calley at the fabulous Eco Chic Parties website. Her article is very thorough and so I saw no reason to write my own. Also, don't hesitate to "lurk" during a party or two until you get the hang of it.

Friday, April 16, 2010

My friend Paige is having a soaker sale in her Etsy Shop right now. I am going to take advantage of this awesome deal to order the next size up for Athena. I am having a hard time deciding what I want to order - I love all the prints we have gotten so far!